Listen...

I When I woke this morning just before six o'clock - my normal time for getting up - I start a conversation with God. He said to me 'just listen'. I tried to rationalise with Him but he said again 'listen'. And so I went to my normal place to pray, didn't do the things I normally do but just listened.

God reminded me of the importance of hearing Him. He brings a message of peace and of challenge. He brings comfort and, in the right way, disturbance.

I felt a little bit like Zecharaiah who was placed in a position of only being able to listen until he named his son John.

I felt a little like Joseph who listened to the voice of an angel to reassure him that his life was to be changed beyond imagining.

I felt like a shepherd in the darkness of the night having my normality changed and presented with the chance to witness God at work.

I felt like a disciple hearing 'come and follow me'.

My 'Advent wondering' has taken me many places in the last three weeks or so. To 'just' listen is a place I must visit more often...

Listen, just listen

As I write a programme is on TV in the hotel in which I am staying. It's called "The Real Housewives of New Jersey". Repeatedly this programme features heated confrontation - often over very minor issues - with lots of raised voices and animated gesticulation.

On this day of listening it seems a bit weird to have this programme on - but also a reminder of the proportionality of listening and speaking: when God created us he gave us two ears and one mouth. Use them in proportion to their distribution.

Because I have been travelling for most of today the opportunity for listening has been limited... Or has it? Spending brief moments this morning with my team I tried very deliberately to 'hear' everything they were saying. Travelling with Catherine, my wife, enabled me to listen carefully to what she was saying. Most precious of all were moments of prayer this morning that were listening moments. The confidence of God's presence was tangible from these earliest moments of the day - I've tried to keep listening to Him throughout today - and it's not finished yet...

I'm listening...